UPCOMING SHOWS

June 7- The Woodlands, Columbus Ohio w/Black Owls & You You’re Awesome
June 8- DCCA Music Festival, Covington, KY
June 28- Fountain Square, Cincinnati w/Psychodots & Cari Clara
July 13- Bunbury Music Festival, Cincinnati, Ohio

Hearty thanks to The Vinyl Anachronist-Perfect Sound Forever, Pruning Shears, Daily Kos and City Beat for including us in their ‘Best of 2012′ lists!

“The Ready Stance- This year’s proof that rock & roll is not dead” -Daily Kos

Making steady progress on the new record. Stay tuned here and on our facebook page for recording progress updates.
Meantime, please enjoy this nice HD performance video from our 12/15/12 show at MOTR:

 NEW HD VIDEO- FULL PERFORMANCE
The Ready Stance Live at MOTR Pub, Cincinnati, Ohio
December 15, 20012
Video: Terry Eaton
Audio: Gary Shell

DAMNDEST, The debut album available now on LP, CD, MP3- Click ‘Store’ tab, above

“This is great, great rock and roll, told with honesty, energy and skill. ” It’s really friggin’ good”
-Marc Phillips, The Vinyl Anachronist

” Packed with reflective lyrics and subtle, introspective arrangements, this record is a masterful work of honest, gimmicks-free
rock & rollfrom the heart of it all.”
-Jennifer Farmer, The Agit Reader

“Damndest, elicits comparisons with the most venerated Americana…unforced and energized like the work of barroom virtuosos”
- Matthew Lindsay, Vulture Hound UK

“Songs that make you feel glad to be alive and makes you realize how lucky we are to be listening to music as good as this”
- Steve Tay, AMP Magazine

“The Album really has a timeless quality, something that’s hard to achieve, but The Ready Stance manages to pull of naturally”
- Mike Breen, CityBeat

Listen on Soundcloud

The Ready Stance 2012, from left,  Eric Moreton (Drums),  Randy Cheek (Bass/Vocals),  Wes Pence (Guitar/Vocals),  Chase Johnston (Vocals/Guitar),

“EATS LIKE A MEAL. Hale and hearty, THE READY STANCE is earnest, urgent, American music. Tube-fueled guitars careen through melodic yarns, with energy to spare. Poignant vocals and textured harmonies.”

__________________________________________
“When I was a kid growing up in Kentucky, on lucky summer nights, my cousin would pick me up in his Chevy Super Sport and drive me down along the Ohio River to Cincinnati to hear some rock ’n’ roll. Those were exciting times, and the bands would play late into the night, rocking soaked in sweat. When I hear the Ready Stance, these memories come back to me and I remember that Cincinnati has produced so many wonderful musicians. The Ready Stance is among that number. You will be hearing a lot about them in the future.”
-
Chris Frantz,  Talking Heads / Tom Tom Club
__________________________________________

“It’s hard to evoke a certain classic style without being overly derivative, But the Ready Stance really pulls it off—plus they write great songs. To me, that’s triumph.”

-Chuck Cleaver, Wussy

__________________________________________

“In these days of gimmicky indie art projects, the Ready Stance’s time-honored sound is rare. Yarns, all set to sweeping, melody-rich hooks, raw, ringing guitars, and driving rhythms—are rooted in fact and stranger than fiction; literate, image-laden observations with a penchant for classic, bent Midwestern arcana.”

-Peter Aaron, Music Editor,Chronogram

__________________________________________

“Great guitar sounds and really nice drumming”

-Stan Demeski, The Feelies

  BOOKING / BAND INQUIRIES:

   readystance@gmail.com

  PRESS / MEDIA INQUIRIES:

   United States / Canada:  

   The Press House, NYC

   Dawn Kammerling: dawn@thepresshouse.com

  U.K. / Europe

  Prescription PR

  James Parrish:  james@prescriptionpr.co.uk

Big Thanks to The Vinyl Anachronist and Perfect Sound Forever for including Damndest in their Best of 2012 lists!

VERY honored that our song, Little Carmel, was featured in this piece about The Melungeons (click photo for link)
in the wonderful journal, The Revivalist- Word from the Appalachian South

“This year’s proof that rock & roll is not dead” – Daily Kos, Best Music of 2012

“Refreshingly open-hearted rock ‘n’ roll songs – literate, urgent, determined, slightly earnest and totally unafraid to sweat…
classic in the making?  Could well be.”  – Nick Churchill, Fatea Magazine (UK)

“The sound of the wheat-land Midwest transmogrified into working class, clean rock n’ roll….Fans of Life’s Rich Pageant R.E.M. and The Long Ryders, take note.”   -Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover Magazine

“Packed with reflective lyrics and subtle, introspective arrangements, this record is a masterful work of honest, gimmicks-free rock & roll from the heart of it all.”- Jennifer Farmer, The Agit Reader

 “The Ready Stance was already in full swing and what a swing it was. The bar was absolutely sardine packed with fans loaded with love for the Stance and they didn’t disappoint. After a scorching spin through what I’m guessing was a new song (I didn’t recognize it as anything from their debut, the uniformly excellent Damndest), Ric Hickey stood wide-eyed and slackjawed and proclaimed the song’s classic brilliance. He wasn’t wrong. Damndest was a great opening volley, but their next shot could well be the one heard around the world, and this gig was an all too brief example of their talent and passion. A great set from a great band.”  -Brian Baker

“…fresh, handsomely arranged songs..a lot of attention was paid to meaningful lyrics…high overall quality album”

(via google translation)-Valsam, Rootstime Magazine, Belgium 

Online band interview from Chordblossom Magazine, UK. 

“As  debut albums go ‘Damndest’ is sure to be one of the finest…all songs that make you feel glad to be alive and makes you realize how lucky we are to be listening to music as good as this” – Steve Tay, AMP Magazine

“The Ready Stance is ready for the world and vice versa.” -Veebeejeebee’s

“…American rock grounded in thoughtful, critical lyrics that make you think about what you’re rocking out to…well worth the listen.”-Buzz About

(VIDEO) Bob Andelman interviews the band via Skype, with 3-song acoustic performance on Mr.Media program.

Feature / Interview -  “The Ready Stance blends veteran and rookie talent on its impressive debut album” - Brian Baker, CityBeat

“…stuff that’ll stick to your bones like a bowl of oatmeal on a cold rustbelt morning” -My Old Kentucky Blog

“Damndest is an album that leaves one fully satisfied and eager to dive right back into its fulfilling depths…sure to garner greater and eager praise as it finds many more willing ears.”-  Ringmaster, UK

“…Damndest elicits comparisons with the most venerated Americana…The radio friendly melodies and fusillade of guitars, chiming and overdriven, all seem instantly familiar but unforced and energized like the work of barroom virtuosos.”
-Matthew Lindsay, Vulture Hound Magazine

“…the album really has a timeless quality, something that’s hard to achieve, but The Ready Stance manages to pull off naturally.”
-Mike Breen, Cincinnati CityBeat

“This is great, great rock and roll, told with honesty, energy and skill.”
-Marc Phillips, The Vinyl Anachronist

” it’s a brilliant sound and the bare simplicity and untouched sound is what makes it.  Top job! ” – Broken Record Magazine, UK

“The Ready Stance are making more than just the right noises here and has the reverberating authenticity all the best midwest guitar bands share. ” -Tasty, UK

IMM Radio Interview with Wes Pence, click here.

The Ready Stance is very grateful to be nominated as “New Artist of the Year” by Cincinnati Entertainment Awards for 2011.Thank you, Cincinnati!

Damndest, LP, CD, MP3, available via Amazon, itunes, and better retailers.

PAST PRESS

“Playing its first show just last year, The Ready Stance is showing major potential well before its debut full-length release. The band’s catchy, creative Rock stylings have been praised by Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz and The Feelies’ Stan Demeski. Frantz predicts big things from The Ready Stance in the future. Something those who have caught the group around town would concur with.”

-MIDPOINT MUSIC FESTIVAL  2011 MUSIC GUIDE, Mike Breen

• The Ready Stance- Cincinnati Metromix Pick for 2/17/11

  Sometimes bands take little breaks because they need to focus on important things such as recording albums to please your little ears. In the case of local indie rockers, The Ready Stance, the band hasn’t played since Thanksgiving for this very reason, and it’s ready to bring the rock once again. Members Wes Pence and Eric Moreton are no strangers to how these technicalities work – both were founding members of Middlemarch back in the early 90s, and have enjoyed positive press for two previous released albums with that band. The Ready Stance is the new project full of upbeat hooks, bouncing bass lines and hook-laden rock. Next blurb you read about them, will hopefully be about an album release show? Ay, boys? Check out Chuck Cleaver from Wussy, as he opens for the band.

• 

• CINCINNATI CITY BEAT- 6/15/2010- BY MIKE BREEN

  http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-20936-the-ready-stance.html

• New local band The Ready Stance makes its debut appearance Saturday at Northside Tavern. The free show also includes performances by Goose and Wussy’s Chuck Cleaver. Local music fans who have been following the scene since before Facebook and MP3s likely will recognize at least a couple of familiar faces in The Ready Stance’s rank. Guitarist Wes Pence and drummer Eric Moreton were founding members of Middlemarch, one of the key bands of Cincinnati music’s early-’90s heyday (another member, Zy O. Lyn, has been recording and touring with The Heartless Bastards). The new band started when Pence (who was then just jamming with friends on weekends) became neighbors with singer/guitarist Chase Johnston, who had just returned to the area after living in Athens, Ga., and performing with the band Stories Below. Pence then invited bassist Paolo Conti (one of his weekend jam pals) and old cohort Moreton to sign on. The band is currently working on recordings and has been posting songs at www.myspace.com/thereadystance as they’re finished.
• METROMIX CINCINNATI- 6/14/10 BY DANIELE PFARRNew local band alert! Those are our favorite words to type. While the band, The Ready Stance, might be new, the players are not novices to the scene. Local music veteran fans will remember some of the members from the 90s band, Middlemarch. It earned acclaim with two releases that ended up on the national CMJ charts and some tracks even got radio play. The Ready Stance is ahead of the game, with a 12-song album already in the works. All before its debut show! Welcome back, Chase, Wes, Paolo and Eric. And as if this opening show couldn’t

All Songs written by Wesley Pence*,
Copyright © 2011 Wesley Pence / Damndest Songs
*Wrecking Ball by Wesley Pence/Chris Rogers (lyrics)
All Rights Reserved

THE READY STANCE

In rock ’n’ roll some tales are just too perfect to make up. And the back story of The Ready Stance is definitely one of them. A truly perfect storm that unfolded within one square block of the historic district in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio from Cincinnati.

“I hadn’t been in a band in years but was still writing songs and jamming with friends on weekends; really just a therapeutic thing after running a manufacturing business and having a family,” recalls guitarist Wes Pence, the creative force of 1990s outfit Middlemarch. “I was walking home one night and happened to glance in the open window of a house on my block. Inside were a couple guitars and fliers for shows by the Replacements and other bands I loved—really out of place for the neighborhood. Then this guy walked out on the porch…”
That guy was lead vocalist and guitarist Chase Johnston, an Ohio native and alumni of the Athens, Georgia, music scene who’d recently moved back to the area. An animated conversation between the two revealed an uncannily simpatico musical vision and still more shared touchstones: Big Star, Television, VU, The Band. They recruited a bassist and old Middlemarch bandmate, drummer Eric Moreton and started working up Pence’s backlog of tunes.  Before even playing a show, they began recording Damndest, The Ready Stance’s astonishingly solid debut, in the basement of Pence’s 1880s house. Mixing was completed on the same block, at Audiogrotto, a newly converted church housing a world-class studio.

Much like the saga of the band’s formation, the yarns in the album’s 11 tracks—all set to sweeping, melody-rich hooks, raw, ringing guitars, and driving rhythms—are rooted in fact and stranger than fiction; literate, image-laden observations with a penchant for classic, bent Midwestern arcana. There’s “Steamship Moselle,” the calliope-infused account of an 1838 maritime explosion catapulting an ill-fated minister to the riverbank; and “Marathon,” an amusing local legend of a confused fistfight between a speech-impaired gas station attendant and a customer with a similar affliction. More timely themes include “Real America,” a chord-crunching, poetic look at divisive political punditry, or “Longarm”, a poignant reproach of  U.S. foreign policy leading to the Iraq War.

Soon after recording,  the group added bassist Randy Cheek, an old friend and veteran of seminal Ohio bands the Ass Ponys and the Libertines, whose famously solid bass work melds perfectly into their sound and feel.  With Damndest hitting the shelves this spring, the new lineup  is already at work on their more collaborative follow-up release, which thus far promises to be a masterwork.

In these days of gimmicky indie projects, the Ready Stance’s time-honored sound is rare: just four guys in a room knocking out earnest, urgent rock, much as it could’ve been done in any decade. “We all can tell after one take if it’s any good—we don’t even really talk about it,” says Johnston. Such timeless stuff has already drawn praise from some legendary names.“When I was a kid growing up in Kentucky,” recalls Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club drummer Chris Frantz, “my cousin would pick me up in his Chevy Super Sport and drive me down along the Ohio River to Cincinnati to hear some rock ’n’ roll. Those were exciting times, and the bands would play late into the night, rocking soaked in sweat. When I hear the Ready Stance, these memories come back to me and I remember that Cincinnati has produced so many wonderful musicians. The Ready Stance is among that number. You will be hearing a lot about them in the future.” And with Damndest, that future is already here. Waiting to be heard. Now.

The Ready Stance at Greenwich Tavern, Cincinnati February 2012

 Vinyl & CD available via Amazon. Click above.

MP3 Downloads available by clicking any of the following: